Transportation Engineering II:

Highway Design & Railways

Lecture 1

INTRODUCTION
Dr. Charisma Choudhury
March 2011

Transportation Engineering

Main domains:

Highway
Railway
Waterway
Air
Pipeline
Space

Tasks of a Transport
Engineer:
- Planning
- Functional design
- Operation and
- Management of facilities

Objective of Transportation Engineering:

Ensuring Safe, rapid, comfortable, convenient, economical, and
environmentally compatible movement of people and goods

Importance

Importance of transportation engineering within
the civil engineering profession
Can be judged by the number of divisions in ASCE
(American Society of Civil Engineers) that are directly
related to transportation


Six divisions (Aerospace; Air Transportation; Highway;

Pipeline; Waterway, Port, Coastal and Ocean; and Urban
Transportation)
Represents one-third of the total 18 technical divisions within
the ASCE (2000)

Introduction to CE 353

4 credits

Course outline

Highway materials
Railways
Construction
Maintenance

Traditionally regarded as the most dreaded

course of CE undergraduate curriculum !
Deathtrap: Railways !



Memorization
English skills
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Introduction to Railways

Outline of lectures on railway

General requirements
Alignment
Permanent way
Station and yards
Signaling
Points and crossings
Maintenance

Key to success
Do not pile up work

Course Management

Website
http://teacher.buet.ac.bd/cfc/ce353.htm

Email list
BUET_CE07@yahoogroups.com

Correspondence
Email: cfc95@yahoo.com
Office hours: Wed 1-2pm

Quiz
Random viva on the material covered on previous class


Commit 30 mins each week

1 class test/assignment
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Resources

Suggested Readings
Principles of Railway Engineering: Rangawala (2000)
Railway Engineering: Agarwal and Chandra, Oxford
University Press (1997)

Video Lectures
Prof Rajat Rastogi, IIT Roorki
http://www.cosmolearning.com/videolectures/introduction-to-railway-engineering-8753/

Bangladesh Railway Information Book

http://www.railway.gov.bd
-> Important Information
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History of Railroads: Timeline

First Railway?
600 BC: Rutway Diolkos in ancient Greek and
Roman times

Rutway

Trackway Diolkos across the
Isthmus of Corinth
Granite road with grooved
tracks in which large wooden
flatbed cars carrying ships and
their cargo were pulled by slaves
or animals
Length: 6 and 8.5 km
Width: 1.5 m (current: 1.435 m)
Regular and frequent service till
900 AD

Rutway

Details: http://www.suite101.com/content/the-diolkos-an-ancient-railway-a24554
YouTube: DIOLKOS 1500 Years
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History of Railroads: Timeline

Manual/ horse drawn railways
1550: Hand propelled tubs known as "hunds in
Germany
1603/4: first recorded above ground early railway/
wagonway
1798: Lake Lock Railroad, the world's first public
railway (carried only coal)
1803: The first public passenger railway, the Surrey
Iron Railway opens in south London

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History of Railroads: Timeline

St. Catharines Street Railway, Canada

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History of Railroads: Timeline

Steam Engines
1804: First steam locomotive railway - Penydarren built by Trevithick, used to haul iron in Wales
1814: George Stephenson constructs his first
locomotive, Blcher
1829: George and Robert Stephenson's locomotive,
The Rocket, sets a speed record of 47 km/h (29 mph),
Liverpool
1857: First steel rails used in Britain
1863: First underground railway, the 4 mile (6.2 km)
Metropolitan Railway opened in London. It was
powered by adapted steam engines
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History of Railroads

1833-34 : Stevensons Steam Engine

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History of Railroads

1833-34 : Built by Cherepanov and his son, total distance of about 3.2 Km (two miles)

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History of Railroads: Timeline

Rails in Indian Subcontinent
1851: First train in British India, built by British invention
and administration
1853: Passenger train makes in dbut in Bombay, India
~1901: trains in our territories

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History of Railroads: Timeline

Electricity propelled
1879 First electric railway demonstrated at the Berlin
Trades Fair
1890 First electric London Underground railway (subway) opened
in Londonall other subway systems soon followed suit

Diesel locomotives
1913 First diesel powered railcar enters service in
Sweden

Diesel Electric locomotive

1924 First diesel-electric locomotive built in Soviet
Union (USSR


Dominant type of locomotive in the world today

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The Quest for Speed

1957 Japan sets narrow gauge world speed record of 145
km/h (90 mph) with Odaky 3000 series SE Romancecar

1964 Bullet Train service introduced in Japan, between
Tokyo and Osaka. Trains average speeds of 160 km/h
(100 mph) due to congested shared urban tracks, with top
speeds of 210 km/h

2003 Heavily modified trainset of France's TGV had
beaten its original world record when it travelled 320 km/h

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The Quest for Speed

TGV at Paris Station

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The Quest for Speed

The Shanghai Maglev Train or Shanghai
Transrapid being the first commercial high-speed
maglev line in the world the top operational
commercial speed of this train is 431 km/h (268
mph), making it the world's fastest train in regular
commercial services since its opening in 2004

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The Quest for Speed

Is it a Bird? A Plane?
Nope, only Shanghai's

Maglev, the world's fastest train !

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Magnetic Levitation (Maglev)

Principle

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Maglev Principle

Opposite poles on magnets keep train above track

Train is propelled by electro-magnetic system in
the sides of the "guideway" instead of onboard
engine

Trains float over a guideway without any contact
between train and rail resulting zero frictional
loss

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Maglev Principle

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Classification of Railway System

Intercity
Long distance
Generally not very frequent


Every 20/30 mins to once a day

Urban
Short haul
Frequent


Frequency as high as every 3 mins

Sub-urban
Suburb to main city
Mostly caters to commuting traffic
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Forms of Urban Rails

At grade

Elevated

Underground (Subway)

26

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Forms of Urban Rails

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Comparison with Roadway

Load handling capacity
Railway can handle heavier loads at higher speeds

Construction, maintenance and operating cost

Railway has higher construction and maintenance cost
but lower operations cost

Speed
High speed rails are much faster than roadway

Degree of freedom
Railway movements are restricted to be in one direction

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Comparison with Roadway

Length of haul (Distance)
Railways are much more convenient for long haul
(>500km trips)

Topography
Railway less suitable in hilly terrains with curves

Energy consumption
Energy required in railway per ton is less than roadway
Is very environment friendly if clean electricity is used

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Advantages

High capacity
Lower operating cost
High speed
Fixed route and easier operation

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Why Railway Engineering?

Civil Engineers responsible for:

Planning the railway tracks

Designing the alignment
Right of Way designing
Operations
Maintenance

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Why Railway
Engineering?

STP Proposal
for Mass Rapid
Transit

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Why Railway Engineering?

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